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Kyle Sandilands has embarked on legal action against his former employer, ARN Media, following the abrupt termination of his $100 million contract last week.
Legal documents were served on Friday to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a branch of ARN responsible for the KIIS 1065 Sydney license and Sandilands’ contract.
ARN disclosed this development in a market update released to the ASX earlier today.
Sandilands’ legal representatives contend that ARN’s accusation of “serious misconduct,” allegedly stemming from an on-air dispute with co-host Jackie O Henderson, is unfounded.
They assert that his dismissal on these grounds is, therefore, unjustifiable.
“They allege that there was no act of serious misconduct or breach of contract, and that the termination was unconscionable under the Australian Consumer Law,” the statement from ARN reads.
“The applicants seek an order for specific performance of two contracts, payment of whatever amounts are due and payable under the contracts at the time of judgment, and damages.”
ARN disputes Sandilands’ claims and said it intends to defend the proceedings.
It could be a costly legal battle, given that there was believed to be more than $80 million still on Sandilands’ 10-year contract.
“Given the early stage of the matter, ARN is unable to reliably estimate the outcome or any potential financial impact,” the statement said.
Sandilands announced his contract with ARN had been terminated last Wednesday.
He said in a statement at the time that he planned to take legal action and alleged that the network wanted a way out of the $100 million deal with him.
“They thought they saw a chance to get out of the contract they signed with me a year ago, and they ran with it,” Sandilands claimed.
Henderson is also reportedly considering legal action after she was taken off air in February.
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